Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Shafiq (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I asked Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) about the voluntary prayers of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so she said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray four rak'ahs in my house before Zuhr, then he would go out and lead the people in the obligatory prayer, then come back home and pray two rak'ahs. He would pray Maghrib with the people, then come home and pray two rak'ahs. He would pray 'Isha with the people, then come home and pray two rak'ahs. And at night he would pray nine rak'ahs, in which was included the Witr. And he would stand and pray for a long part of the night, and sit for a long part of the night; when he recited while standing, he would also bow and prostrate standing, and when he recited while sitting, he would also bow and prostrate sitting. And when Fajr would come, he would pray two rak'ahs.

Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made a chamber out of palm leaves or a mat, and began to pray in it. Many companions came and started praying behind him. Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit says: Then one night, many companions came, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed and did not come out to them, and the people raised their voices towards him and threw pebbles at the door. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to them angrily and said to them: If your condition had remained as it was, I feared that this prayer would also become obligatory upon you. Pray in your homes, for except for the obligatory prayer, a person's best prayer is that which he performs in his house (because it is free from showing off). In another narration, it is mentioned that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made a chamber in the mosque with a mat.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When a person offers prayer in his mosque, he should save a portion to pray at home (i.e., Sunnah and Nafl prayers), because Allah will bring goodness to his house through his prayer.

Narrated Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered the mosque and saw a rope hanging between two pillars. He said, "What is this?" The people said, "This is the rope of Umm al-Mu'mineen Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her); she prays, and when she becomes sluggish or tired, she holds onto it." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Untie it. Each of you should pray as long as he is energetic. When he becomes sluggish or tired, he should sit down."

Alqamah says: I asked Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her), "What was the state of the worship of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? Did he specify any particular day for worship?" She said, "No, rather his worship was constant. And who among you can do the worship that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) could do?"

Narrated from Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) that when Hawla bint Tuwait passed by in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "This is Hawla bint Tuwait, and people say that she does not sleep at night (engaged in worship)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do deeds according to your capacity. By Allah, Allah does not tire (of giving reward), but you will tire."

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that one night I stayed with my maternal aunt, Umm al-Mu’minin Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) (so that I could observe the Tahajjud prayer of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ). The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم got up at night and went to relieve himself, then washed his hands and face and then lay down again. Then he got up, came to the water-skin and untied its string, then performed an ablution between two extremes (i.e., neither very thorough nor very light), and did not waste much water, and completed the ablution. Then he stood up and began to pray. I also got up and stretched myself so that the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم would not think that I was alert just to observe his state (from this it is known that the Companions did not hold the belief of knowledge of the unseen for the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم as the ignorant now do for the Prophets and saints). I performed ablution and stood on his left side. The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم took my hand and turned me to stand on his right side. (From this it is known that if there is one follower, he should stand on the right side of the Imam.) In short, the prayer of the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم at night was completed in thirteen rak‘ahs, then he lay down and slept until he began to snore. And it was the blessed habit of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم that when he slept, he would snore. Then Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) came and informed the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم about the morning prayer, so he got up and performed the (Sunnah of Fajr) prayer and did not perform ablution again, and supplicated with these words:“O Allah, place light in my heart, and light in my eyes, and light in my ears, and light on my right, and light on my left, and light above me, and light beneath me, and light in front of me, and light behind me, and increase light for me.”Kurayb (the narrator of the hadith) said that there were seven more words which are in my heart (i.e., they do not come to my tongue because I have forgotten them). Then I met some of the children of Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and they informed me that those words were:“my sinew, my flesh, my blood, my hair, my skin, and two other things”(i.e., in all these the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم asked for light).

Umm al-Mu'minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) said that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the night prayer, he would first perform two light rak'ahs.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand for prayer at night, he would say: "O Allah, all praise is for You alone. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth, and all praise is for You. You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth, and all praise is for You. You are the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. You are True, Your promise is true, Your word is true, meeting You is true, Paradise is true, Hell is true, the Hour is true. O Allah, I submit to You, I believe in You, I rely upon You, I turn to You, I argue with others for Your sake, and I seek judgment from You. So forgive my past and future sins, those I have done in secret and in open. O Allah, You are my God, there is no god but You."

Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray thirteen rak'ahs at night. Among them were five witr, and he would sit only at the end (that is, he would pray five rak'ahs of witr with only one tashahhud).